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The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.

Eddie Huang

Follow your dreams—but with the same discipline as running a business.

Celebrity chef | Bestselling author of Fresh Off the Boat | Writer and director of Boogie and Tuna Melt

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What Does It Mean to Be Asian American? (1:34)

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Influencing the Culture by Being Yourself [12:05]

We all have dreams of leaving our mark on the world, but bestselling author EDDIE HUANG says that’s only half the battle. Whether you’re a student, team leader, or someone in a creative field, Eddie says you need to treat your dreams with all the discipline of running a business. His astounding life offers proof. He’s the New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Fresh Off the Boat, which became the hit sitcom that featured the first all-Asian American cast on network TV in two decades. Plus, he hosted Huang’s World for Vice, wrote and directed the feature film Boogie, and opened the ground-breaking restaurant Baohaus. To take big risks and tap into your creativity, he says, you need to make new rules that will hold you accountable to your dreams and goals.

“Long before I met him, I was a fan of his writing, and his merciless wit. He’s bigger than food.”— Anthony Bourdain

Eddie Huang is the New York Times bestselling author of Fresh Off the Boat, his memoir of growing up Asian-American which was hailed by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain as “mercilessly funny and provocative.” In it, he touches on food, identity, and family, exploring with his trademark thoughtfulness and irreverence what it looks like to tell diverse stories and embrace difference. The New York Times called it “bawdy and frequently hilarious… a surprisingly sophisticated memoir about race and assimilation in America.” It was turned into the landmark sitcom of the same name, starring Constance Wu, Randall Park, and Hudson Yang, which made history as the longest-running Asian-American sitcom ever.

Eddie first broke onto the cultural scene with his Taiwanese restaurant Baohaus, which he opened to tell his family’s story at a time when Asian-Americans were underrepresented in media. Ryan Sutton, Eater NY’s chief critic, wrote that Eddie and Baohaus helped an overlooked cuisine gain “a bit of extra cultural capital.”

Eddie made his directorial debut with Boogie, a coming-of-age feature film he also wrote that follows a Chinese-American teen rising to prominence on the basketball court. He is the writer and executive producer of Panda, a one-hour drama on Showtime, as well as the writer and director of the dramedy Tuna Melt, which he also stars in opposite Grammy-winning singer SZA.

Eddie’s other books include Homecoming: A Memoir, about his time in Taiwan during the pandemic, and Double Cup Love, “an elaborate story of love and self-discovery” (The New York Times). The New Yorker praised Double Cup Love for its exploration of what it means to be Asian American, saying, “Huang is determined to tease out the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which Asian-Americans give up parts of themselves in order to move forward. Fortunately for us, he’s not afraid to speak up about it.” He also hosted Huang’s World on VICE—a food travel show which explored identity, food, and diversity—as well as MTV’s Snack-Off.

Testimonials

“It was a pleasure meeting you last week at our NAMIC Conference. I wanted to say thank you so much for your moving and heartfelt speech. I appreciated you being aware of our needs and asking me to read your speech prior and discussing the audience, topic, and theme. And it was a perfect home run. The crowd was so moved and enlightened, and one executive said to me, ‘Wow, that was so impactful. I learned more about marketing from his personal story than listening to tactics and percentages.’ I hope your experience was as positive as ours. Thanks again and I can’t wait to eat at Baohaus!”

NAMIC Conference

Testimonials

“Eddie’s keynote was the best one at our event. I should have had him as the last speaker because the Student Centre cleared out when he was finished. My colleagues all agree that Eddie represented what our Real Talks event is about. What I personally enjoyed is when Eddie finished his keynote and what he said really hit home with students in the audience, prompting a bunch of questions. I remember Eddie saying to a student, ‘Are you living life for yourself or your parents?’ The fact that Eddie’s keynote got some many students to open up to him in that setting speak volumes.”

Humber Students’ Federation

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Speech Topics

Entrepreneurship

Treating Your Dreams as a BusinessThe Practical Steps to Achieving Your Goals

We all have dreams of changing the world. But how do we actually put aside our fears and chase these dreams? Bestselling author Eddie Huang argues that the key to making your dreams a reality isn’t just playing it smart—you have to take responsibility for achieving your goals and treat it like running a business. You can break all the conventional rules, he says, so long as you remember to make some of your own.

In this uproariously funny, inspiring talk, Eddie tells the story of how he found success while staying true to himself, drawing on his long list of accomplishments as a writer, director, and chef, among others. With his trademark wit and frankness, he offers lessons he’s learned on his pathway to success: embrace your difference, bet on yourself, never throw away an idea, and so many more. If you want to tap into your potential and be inspired to live life your own way, this talk is for you. “This is your time,” Eddie says. “You gotta do what you want to do with that time.”

Corporate Culture

Success Is a Team SportBuilding Teams in High-Pressure Environments

Whether you’re on a film set or in a boardroom, you’re on a team, says Eddie Huang. Eddie has made waves for his brilliant writing and directing, but he never forgets that everything he does is a team sport. In this practical, engaging talk, he draws from his experiences in a variety of different careers—restauranteur, writer, producer, director—to show how when you put the team first, you get closer to your own dreams.

Eddie tells stories from his time on set and in every other career, offering practical takeaways about how to foster teamwork in high-pressure environments, and how to build a culture of teamwork to get big wins. He shows how you can create a team where everyone is free to take risks, contribute, unleash their creativity, and win—together.